Apparatus for spraying crown caps



Dec. 3, 1946.

H. A. FINK APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING CROWN CAPS Filed Dec. 2, 1944 3Sheets-Sheet 1 ffntyliz'nk.

Dec. 3, 1946. H, A, FINK 2,412,138

APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING CROWN CAPS Filed Dec. 2, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mI m Dec. 3, 1946. H. A. FINK 2,412,138

' APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING CROWN CAPS Filed Dec. 2, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3JUAN/I'M Henry JZ. R7178.

Patented Dem-3, 1946 APPARATUS FOR SPBAYING CROWN CAPS Henry A. Fink,Pelham Manor, N. Y., ascignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., NewYork, N. Y., a. corporation of New York Application December 2, 194d,Serial No. 566,348

Claims. 1

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in an apparatus forspraying crown caps.

Owing to the shortage in the tin supply, crown caps have been made fromsalvaged plate such as old used tin can bodies that have had thedecorations removed therefrom, or from parts of the can bodies whichhave not been decorated. Caps have also been cut from scrap materialsand old crowns have been reformed. The old crowns have had thedecorations removed therefrom and have then been reformed. In all suchinstances as referred to above it is found necessary to recoat the capsin order to make them commercially useable.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for spraycoatingcrown caps whichapparatus sprays first one side of the crown capand then the other while it is continuously moving through theapparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of theabove type wherein the caps are placed in rows on a continuouslytravelling endless conveyor for the first spraying operation and arethen inverted and placed on a second conveyor for a second sprayingoperation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of theabove type wherein a magnetic roller is utilized for the transfer of thecrown caps from one conveyor to the other in an inverted position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus ofthe above type'wherein the crown caps after they are spray coated, arepassed through a drying tunnel so that the coating material is setsufliciently for the handling of the caps and the passing of the samethrough a baking oven.

A further object of the invention is to provide in an apparatus of theabove type means for cleaning the coating material from the conveyorafter it is passed through the drying oven.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part behereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings- Figure l is a view showing more or lessdiagrammatically and in side elevation a portion of the apparatus forspray coating the crown p Figure 2 is a similar view showing a portionof the apparatusfor drying the coated caps;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through the apparatus adjacentone of the spray nozzles; and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view through the drying oven;

Figure 5. is an enlarged view in side elevation of the magnetic rollerand a portion of the conveyors associated therewith.

The apparatus for coating the crown caps and dryin the coating-after itis applied thereto includes a feed hopper in which the caps to be coatedare placed promiscuously. Associated with the hopper are devices forfeeding the caps onto a conveyor belt with all of the caps arranged inrows and facing upwardly, that is, the caps are placed so that theinside of the cap may be sprayed from above. The conveyor is anon-magnetic type of conveyor and moves continuously. The conveyorpasses beneath the spray nozzle which is oscillated transversely of thepath of travel of the conveyor so as to spray all of the caps which arearranged as noted in a plurality of rows. The conveyor passes over amagnetic pulley which will hold the caps tight against the conveyoruntil the conveyor leaves the pulley and then the caps will drop ontoanother endless conveyor which conveys the caps in inverted position,that is, with the outer side of the cap facing upwardly and while inthis position, the caps are fed beneath an oscillating spray coatingdevice for spraying the top side of the cap. The conveyor then takes thecaps through a relatively long heated drying tunnel where the volatilesin the coating material are driven off and the material set so that thecaps may be handled without marring, after which the conveyor dischargesthe caps onto another conveyor which leads through a baking oven wherethe coating on the caps is converted into a hard enamel surface.

Referring more in detail to'the drawings, the apparatus includes aframework which is preferably made of angle iron. As shown in Figur 1,this angle iron frame includes a series of legs and longitudinallyextending members. The longitudinally extending members I are providedwith suitable brackets 2 in which is mounted a shaft 3 carrying a beltwheel 4 over which an endless belt conveyor 5 passes. Mounted on thelegs 6 is a cross shaft 1 carrying a roller 8 for supporting the belt.The legs 9, 9 extend above the conveyor 5 and are provided with sidemembers ID in which shafts II and I2 are mounted,

one at one end of the side members and the other at the other end.

Mounted on these shafts are pulleys l8 and I 4 respectively, over whicha belt conveyor l5 runs. This belt conveyor is made of non-magnetic thesame direction. As shown in Figure 1, the crown caps which are indicatedat C are so positioned on the conveyor I! as they come from the chutesthat the inside of the cap will face upwardly. In the present embodimentof the invention there are five chutes and five rows of caps depositedupon the conveyor and carried through the apparatus as shown in Figure3. This hopper and the means for feeding the caps and delivering thesame through the five chutes so that they all face in the same directionis of well known construction used in the manufacture of crown caps andfurther detailed description thereof is not thought necessary.

Mounted on the legs 3, 3 is a supporting bracket 2|. This bracket isL-shaped and the left hand end thereof extends upward and supports anarm 22 on which a sprayer head 23 is mounted. This sprayer head is somounted on the arm that it may be oscillated transversely of the travelof the conveyor. The conveyor i5 is operated by a sprocket chain 24which runs over a sprocket wheel on the shaft l2 and also over asprocket wheel on the shaft 3.

The crown caps are delivered onto the conveyor ll in five rows. Thisconveyor moves continuously and will carry the caps beneath the sprayerhead 23 which, as it oscillates back and forth transversely of theconveyor, will completely coat the interior surface of the crown cap andalso the'skirt. As the belt conveyor passes around the magnetic rollerl3 the caps will be held magnetically tightly against the conveyor untilthe conveyor leaves the magnetic roller, after which the caps will bereleased and will drop onto the conveyor 5 in inverted position, thatis,with the outer surface of the cap facing upwardly. In this invertedposition the crown caps are carried beneath a spray head 25. The sprayhead '28 is mounted on an arm 23 so that it may be oscillated thereon.This arm 23 is carried by a cross bar 21 mounted on the legs l3, It. InFigure 3 of the drawings the spray head His shown more in detail. Thesupporting bar 23 has a lug 23 fixed thereto and a link 30 is connectedto the lug at one end and to a crank 3| at the other end carried by ashaft 32 which is driven by a motor 33. The motor is mounted on abracket 34. This bracket 34 is carried by one of the legs I3. As theshaft 32 is rotated it will cause the sprayer head to oscillate back andforth trans-' versely of, the conveyor. This range of oscillation issufficient to coat the crown caps C resting on the conveyor 5. It isnoted from Figure 3 that there are guide bars 35, 35 which extendlengthwise of the apparatus, which guide bars are mounted on thesupporting legs of the apparatus and serve as a means for guiding andsupporting the conveyor 5. Located beneath the conveyor 8 is a drip pan36 so thatthe coating material contacting the belt conveyor in betweenthe crowns can pass through the same owing to the fact that it is awoven steel belt and will -.be collectedinthe drip pan. I

The sprayer head 23 is oscillated by a motor mounted on the frame of themachine in a manner similar to the motor 33 and illustration of the samehas not been given. The sprayer, head 23 is enclosed in a housingindicated in full lines at 31 to which is attached a stack 33 controlledby a damper 33. The volatiles of the coating material escaping therefromwill be collected in this housing and carried away by suction throughthe stack 33. There is a housing 40 associated with the sprayer head 23and this housing which is indicated in full lines in Figure 1 and infull lines in Figure 3, is connected to a stack 4| which is controlledby a damper 42.

After the caps have been sprayed on both sides, they are carried by theconveyor 5 into and through a tunnel 43, a part of which is shown inFigure 1 and another part of which is shown in Figure 2. The tunnel isshown in cross section in Figure 4. The legs 44, 44 of the frame carrythe guide bars 33, 33 along which the belt conveyor 5 passes. Alsomounted on these legs are angle bars 45, 43 which support a perforatedplate 43. This provides a heat chamber 41 which is located beneath thepath of travel of the woven belt conveyor. Placed beneath the perforatedplate are burners 43, 43 and deflectors 43, 43. This heat chamberextends the full length of the tunnel and there are burner pipesarranged in sections along the tunnel. The tunnel 43 is in the form ofan arch-shaped metal housing which is supported onthe guide bars 35, 35.Associated with the tunnel are a number of stacks, two of which areindicated at 50. These stacks all lead to an exhaust manifold whichdischarges the fumes coming off from the drying caps to the outside ofthe building.

The belt conveyor 5 not only carries thev caps through the dryingtunnel, but also carries them through a cooling hood indicated at 5|.Said cooling hood overhangs the path of travel of the belt conveyor andextends lengthwise thereof for a relatively short distance. A pipe 32leads into the hood at the upper end thereof and discharges air into thehood. The cooling air can pass down through the belt conveyor and outthrough the discharge end of the hood. The air is supplied to the pipe52 from a suitable fan 53.

The belt conveyor 3 runs over a pulley 33, thence over a pulley 55, andthence under a pulley 54. The shaft 51 carrying the pulley 53 isoperated from a motor 33. A sprocket wheel carried by the shaft 51operates a sprocket chain which runs over a sprocket wheel connected tothe shaft 53 on which the pulley 54 is fixedly mounted. This motordrives the conveyor 5. The other end of the conveyor is mounted on thebracket 2 and this bracket is carried by the frame so that it may beadjusted by an adjustable screw 30 for taking up slack in the conveyor.The belt on its return underneath the tunnel passes over supportingrollers 3|, 8|. The belt conveyor also passes between two rotatingbrushes 62, 62, one of which engages the upper face of the conveyor andthe other engages the lower face of the conveyor. The purpose of thesebrushes is to remove from the belt conveyor the coating material whichis dried thereon as the caps are carried through the drying tunnel.These brushes 32,

62 are driven by a suitable motor 33.

The crown caps are discharged from the cooling hood onto a deflectorplate 34 and thence onto a conveyor 35 which carries the caps into abaking oven.

The operation of the apparatus is thought to be clear from thedescription given above. The

crown caps are placed in the hopper l9 and are fed therefrom onto thebelt conveyor l5, all facing upward so that the inside of the caps maybe coated. They are placed on the conveyor in parallel lines and, asillustrated, there are five lines of crown caps. This conveyor carriesthe caps beneath the sprayer head 23 where they are coated with asuitable coating material, after which the caps are inverted and placedon the belt conveyor 5. The belt conveyor conveys the caps through thehousing 40 where they are again sprayed by the spraying head 25. Thisensures that the crown caps will be completely sprayed on both sidesthereof. The crown caps are placed with the inside facing upwardly forthe first coating operation so that during the second coating operationafter the caps have been inverted, they are resting on the conveyor sothat contact with the conveyor is only with the lower edge of the skirtof the crown cap. This leaves the outer face of the crown cap which mustbe well protected with the coating free from contact with the travellingbelt conveyor. This belt conveyor is travelling continuously and thecaps are placed one after another on the conveyors, coated, inverted andthen again coated and finally pass into and through the drying tunnel.

'After leaving the drying tunnel the caps pass beneath a coolingsection. The drying time and temperature is sufficient to keep the crowncaps from being marred when they fall from the conveyor 5 onto theconveyor 65 which leads to the baking oven.

It is obvious that many changes may be made in the details ofconstruction without departing from the spirit of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for coating crown caps comprising a conveyor on whichthe caps are placed in a plurality of rows for coating, a spray headassociated with said conveyor for coating the exposed faces of the caps,said conveyor being of non-magnetic material, a magnetic roller overwhich the conveyor passes, said roller operating to hold the caps on theconveyor until they pass from the magnetic influence thereof, a secondconveyor onto which the caps drop when released from the first conveyorin an inverted position, a spray head associated with the secondconveyor for coating the exposed uncoated face of the caps.

2. An apparatus for coating crown caps comprising a conveyor on whichthe caps are placed for coating, 9. device associated therewith forspray coating the exposed face of the caps, a secand conveyor disposedbeneath the first named conveyor onto which the caps are discharged ininverted position and a second device associated with said last namedconveyor for-spray coating the exposed uncoated face of the caps, adrying tunnel through which said second conveyor passes after leavingthe second spray head and means for heating the air in said tunnel and acooling hood under which said conveyor passes after leaving the dryingtunnel whereby the caps before leaving the conveyor are completely 6coated on both sides and the coating set so as to permit the handling ofthe caps.

3..An apparatus for coating crown caps comprising a conveyor, means forplacing caps to be coated on said conveyor in a plurality of rows, aspray head associated with said conveyor for coating the exposed upperfaces of the caps thereon, a second conveyor disposed beneath the firstnamed conveyor onto which the caps are discharged in inverted position,a second spray head associated with the said last named conveyor forcoating the upper exposed faces of the caps thereon, a drying tunnelthrough which said second conveyor passes after leaving the second sprayhead and means for heating the airin said tunnel and a cooling hoodunder which said conveyor passes after leaving the drying tunnel wherebythe caps before leaving the conveyor are completely coated on both sidesand the coating set so as to permit the handling of the caps.

4. An apparatus for coating crown caps comprising a conveyor ofnon-magnetic woven metal. means for feeding the caps onto said conveyorin a plurality of rows with the inner faces of the caps facing upwardly,a spray head associated with the conveyor, means for oscillating thespray head transversely of the conveyor for coating all of the caps onthe conveyor as they pass beneath the spray head, a magnetic roller overwhich said'conveyor passes operating to retain the caps on the conveyoruntil they reach an inverted position, a second conveyor beneath thefirst named conveyor onto which the caps drop with the outer facesthereof facing upwardly, a second spray head mounted above said lastnamed conveyorand means for oscillating said second spray head forcoating the other face of all of the caps thereon.

5. An apparatus for coating crown caps com-'- prising a conveyor ofnon-magnetic woven metal, means for feeding the caps onto said conveyorin a plurality of rows with the inner faces of the caps facing upwardly,a spray head associated with the conveyor, means for oscillating thespray head transversely of the conveyor for coating all of the caps onthe conveyor as they pass beneath the spray head, a magnetic roller overwhich said conveyor passes operating to retain the caps on the conveyoruntil they reach an inverted position, a second conveyor beneath thefirst named conveyor onto which the caps drop with the outer facesthereof facing upwardly. a second spray head mounted above said lastnamed conveyor, means for oscillating said second spray head for coatingthe other face of all of the caps thereon, a drying'tunnel, means forheating the drying tunnel, said tunnel being disposed so that theconveyor with the coated caps thereon pass through the tunnel, and acooling hood disposed relative to the tunnel so that the coated capsafter leaving the tunnel pass beneath said cooling hood so that thecoating applied to the caps will be set and hardened sufliciently forhandling before the caps leave said second conveyor.

HENRYLFINK.

